Improve the "18650 USB lithium -ion battery" that becomes a mobile battery

I bought a 3400mAh 18650 lithium-ion secondary battery with a Type-C port on the main unit as a mobile battery on impulse

While walking around Akihabara, I found an extended lithium-ion rechargeable battery with a USB Type-C port attached to the 18650-type lithium-ion battery (hereafter, 18650 battery) and bought it on impulse. As you know, the 18650 battery is a secondary battery that can be recharged and reused like Eneloop, but by using lithium-ion instead of nickel-metal hydride, it has less memory effect and can be reused up to about 500 times. It's a thing.

The USB rechargeable lithium-ion battery is a secondary battery with a voltage of 3.6V and a capacity of 3400mAh.

As the model number 18650 indicates, it is a cylindrical battery with a diameter of 18 mm and a length of 65 mm (650 x 0.1 mm). It is about twice as large as the popular AA alkaline batteries and eneloop rechargeable batteries.

18650 battery that looks similar but has a larger lid than the AA battery (front)

　The biggest feature of the 18650 battery is the size of the voltage. The voltage of 18650 batteries currently on the market ranges from 3.6V to 3.7V, which is more than double the 1.2V of Eneloop and the 1.5V of regular AA batteries. Also, in terms of capacity, compared to AA size Ni-MH batteries with around 1900mAh, it has about 2500-3600mAh, and once charged, the amount of natural discharge is small and it can be used to charge smartphones.

　In order to use this 18650 battery as a mobile battery, a dedicated charging box and a dedicated cable for power supply are required. The 18650 type USB lithium-ion battery introduced this time has the battery body extended by about 5 mm from the original length of 65 mm, and the Type-C port and related circuits are extended to the body. The USB port is 5V/1A for both input and output.

A variant that extends the length of the 18650 battery by about 5mm and incorporates a Type-C port and related circuitry.

　This 18650 battery is not the first battery that came up with the idea of ​​attaching a USB port to the side of a cylindrical battery and charging it with a USB/AC adapter for charging smartphones. Nearly a decade ago, several companies sold batteries that could be recharged by plugging a charging cable directly into a rechargeable AA battery. The differentiation of this product is that the port is modern with Type-C, and the high voltage and larger capacity than before by adopting lithium ion.

Weird batteries with a USB Type-A plug built into the battery body, and types that attach a USB port to the side of the battery and charge from a general USB/AC adapter have existed for quite some time.

When purchasing a product, the writer, who is good at impulse purchases, did not even read the endorsements on the package, and interpreted it as being able to be charged with a Type-C cable pulled out from a common USB/AC adapter lying around the house. I bought only the main body and returned home.

　However, I actually tried to replace the USB/AC adapters around the house and tried to charge with a USB cable that was sold, but none of them could be charged at all. Please use a C cable (sold separately)", so I went to the store where I bought the 18650 battery again the next day and ended up buying a dedicated "USB Type-C (charging) cable".

USB lithium-ion battery (18650 type) and dedicated USB Type-C cable that I bought on impulse this time

Previous 123Next

tweet

Go to category top

Articles in this series

The editor of this article recommends the following articles

ASCII Club

Featured News

ASCII Club

What is ASCII Club?

Information

Latest article

Today's immediate purchase goods/ASCII store's selection

Pickup

ASCII store's popularity ranking Best 5

Display format: PC ⁄ smartphone